For any members who haven't had their journal yet, here are details about Conference, the workshops and costs etc.

Processing of applications will begin on 29th December. Places are allocated on a first come first served basis, if a workshop is oversubscribed on day one a ballot will be held. The Conference Secretary is prepared to accept e-mail notification of workshop choice, but to hold the place this must be backed up by a completed application form and payment within 10 days.

PLEASE NOTE: if you are unable to post your application form and need to send it electronically, you will need to download the pdf of the application form, fill it in and save the completed form as a separate pdf. This completed form will then need to be emailed to Teresa Kent as an email attachment to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Guild of Enamellers is delighted to announce Yasmin Belkhayat as the 2018 winner of their annual Bursary Award. Yasmin recently completed the Diploma in Jewellery and Goldsmithing Skills and Design run by the Crafts Council of Ireland based at Kilkenny Campus, University of Maynooth, Ireland.

Yasmin initially started working with enamels as part of the Holts Apprenticeship course where she was introduced to a wide range of techniques. During her Diploma Yasmin further developed her champlevé and cloisonné skills and spent considerable time testing fluxes and enamels before completing her application pieces. The Bursary Award package will allow Yasmin, who is London based, to experiment further with other techniques such as painting and plique-à-jour and to expand her knowledge of fluxes and finishes. Yasmin is passionate about enamelling and wants to incorporate it into her future jewellery and silversmithing projects.

The Guild is extremely grateful to joint sponsors The British Society of Enamellers, W G Ball Ltd, craft&design Online, Proops Brothers Ltd, Milton Bridge Ceramic Colours and Vitrum Signum for supporting the Bursary Award. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, Leanne McCormack and Mahroz Hekmati were awarded runner-up prizes.The selection panel was impressed by the quality and diversity of the submissions, and were heartened to see a resurgence in the use of traditional techniques such as cloisonné, plique-à-jour and champlevé among applicants. It was clear that the applicants had a real enthusiasm, passion and flare for enamelling.

Since my appointment as vice chair of the guild, I have decided to step down from my position as librarian. Therefore I am asking members of the guild to consider taking my place. Any member who would like to fill this role will enjoy being surrounded by a wonderful selection of books and DVDs collected since the foundation of the guild in the 1970s. As librarian you will become a member of the executive committee and will therefore be involved in decision making and planning which is fun and very rewarding.

If possible I would like to hand over the library at the next conference in April 2018.

Please get in touch with me if you are interested and wish to discuss the position in more detail.

Marion Edwards

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

07515 360396

POSTSCRIPT

We are also expecting to have a couple of other new vacancies on the executive committee in the near future. If any members are at all interested in getting involved in the running of the Guild in any capacity, please do get in touch with either David Cowling or your regional rep. and we can give more details. Also our next meeting is in February and if anyone would like to attend, just as an observer, to get to know us better and see how things are run, again please just get in touch.